The amazing adventure of princess Levy!
by Lala-chan64
Summary: So what do you do when you're locked inside a castle while being forced to take lessons in how to be a perfect princess? When she is forced to marry her best friend, Levy Mcgarden finds only one solution. And that is to run away and never come back! But what happens when she bumps into the famous burgular Gajeel Redfox on her escape? GaLe, Nalu, Gruvia and some Jerza. ;)
1. Chapter 1

**The amazing adventures of  
Princess Levy!**

**So here we go! XD **

**This is my first fanfiction, so please mind that while reading. :) You can also find this story on deviantART. So yeah, still pretty new with this whole concept, but I hope to sort things out pretty soon.**

Chapter 1

The amazing decision. 

In the great age of prosperity and wealth, the kingdom of Fiore was ruled by the powerful, royal family. Merchants and business companies all played an important role in keeping the system going, and the king and queen supervised this, making sure trades, farms and industries all worked together. Thus, their role was extremely important for the well being of the country.  
The royal castle was situated in the business capital, Crocus, as it provided the best overlook at the current situation. In the midst of the flower city, as it was called, the castle towered over the smaller houses, looking superior in comparison. A huge brick wall hid most of the castle, and was about impossible to get past. It wasn't like the country would get into a war, but just in case they had made it impassable. The only entrance was through the main gates at the front, and it was constantly guarded by the national military forces. Inside the massive brick shell was it almost like a tiny village. Courtyards, towers and independent shacks and houses made up an intricate system. All sorts of people lived here, as most of them were employed to work at the castle. The maids lived in the shacks and houses, while the chefs, butlers, teachers and other higher rank employments lived in the tower suits, actually having their very own room.

It was a beautiful evening, and the sun dove into the horizon, throwing cascades of orange and golden light at the city. The castle was as lively as usual, and people swarmed around like ants, busy doing their work. In the north-east courtyard staggered a certain someone along the brick covered ground.  
As the princess, she was the rightful heir to the throne, and she had been taking lessons since birth. First by her mom, and then by the royal tutors. She still remembered how much she had cried and whined when she took her first lesson with a tutor, as she had to be without her mom for a full hour. Since then, her day was filled with classes in history, etiquette, piano, fencing, economy, art and medicine. 'Honestly!' The poor bluenette thought as she made her way to her room. She was already worn out after countless of hours spent indoors when the sun shone outside. It was like all the tutors had a common mess-with-the-princess-day, since all they did was to point out how bad she performed the task, and then give her an even harder one. Her piano teacher had rambled about how she had to get herself together and practice more. Her fencing teacher had this brilliant idea of letting her spar with one of the guards, and sent her to the next class covered with bruises. Her economy teacher gave her countless of cases where she had to use advanced mathematical and theoretical thinking to solve financial issues. And last but not least, after an exhausting day, she got scolded by the history teacher for falling asleep during class.  
And now, with a body that hurt for every step she took and eyelids that almost slid close if she wasn't cautious, she mentally cursed while forcing her tiny body to move up the winding stairs.  
When she finally had reached the top, and started to shuffle over the red-carpet floor, a voice called out to her from behind.

"Levy! I was looking for you!" The girl named Levy turned around to see her mother, the queen, Miranda standing at the end of the hallway. Her emerald eyes were beaming, and a dazzling smile covered her lips. Without a second thought, Levy lounged forward to hug her mom, feeling her soothing warmth and comforting scent as she wrapped her arms around her daughter.

"Tough day?" Miranda giggled, while running her hand through Levy's hair, which was, the exact same hair-color as her own. Levy only nodded in response, pouting slightly at her mother. She tried to give her the "I-don't-wanna-do-this!"-look, but she only smiled in return, pulled back from the hug and placed both hands at Levy's shoulders. Her features were gleaming with excitement, and while she begun to speak, Levy's father, Claude, appeared in the end of the hallway, walking with determined steps in their direction. With his slightly round body, white hair and Harry Potter-style glasses he looked like a teddybear. But despite that, he always acted formally, even towards his own wife. right now, he looked as proud as ever while a content smile hung from ear to ear.

"Your father and I have some great news!" the queen squealed like a child. Her husband, the king, walked up behind her and nodded in agreement. He was the next to speak, and even with all the formality, glee was clear in his voice.

"Guess what, we finally got you a fiance!"

At the moment those words escaped his lips, Levy's world crashed around her. Not only did they force her to take all these lessons, now they wanted to decide who she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with! She felt despair rising in the pit of her stomach, but also a growing rage that made her clench her fists. However, she decided to hear them out to get a proper look at the situation.

"So who is this fiance?" she mumbled, anger still lingering in her head. But who knows, maybe it wasn't as bad as she thought.  
The queen looked like she had waited forever for this answer, and she clasped her hands together with a "you're-going-to-like-this"-look.

"Your fiance is..." She took an artistic pause, just to build up her imagined excitement. That woman watched way to many TV-shows. "Gray Fullbuster!"

"I would never marry him!" Levy screamed as soon her mother had said the name, and judging by her expression, she was quite taken aback. A deafening silence followed. Only Levy's raged panting could be heard as both her parents stared at her in disbelief. Her mom was the first to break the silence.

"But you're good friends, aren't you?" she carefully said, cautious not to get another insult screamed in her face. Claude looked from his wife to Levy, clearly speechless.

"That's why I can't! He's my friend, I could never marry him." she snapped. "It would be too weird!"

Surprisingly, Miranda sighed in relief, which made Levy seriously confused.

"If that's the case, I'm sure you'll get used to it after a while." she grinned. Levy didn't know if she should scream back or cry. For some reason, it seemed like they didn't want to understand her at all! With a last glare, she turned on her heel and marched away to her room. Completely ignoring the aching bruises that decorated her body. When she finally had reached her room and slammed the door shut, she slid down with her back against the door. Tears pippled down her cheeks as she cried in frustration. Her hands were shaking, and her breath hiccoughy as she continued to sob into her gown. That way, her foolish parents wouldn't interrupt her, as only muffled sounds escaped the crying mess on the floor.

She and Gray had been friends a long time, since he was her best friend's, Lucy Heartfilia's, adopted brother. The three of them had shared great memories together. She still remembered how Gray had to watch out for all they did, as both Levy and Lucy had been trough their reckless periods while being young. One day, both of them had climbed a large tree, and then panic had struck them both as they realized they couldn't get down again. In the end, Gray had to run to the nearest mansion, borrow a shaky ladder, and then get them down.  
After some years had passed, all of them had grown up. And since Lucy's father was a famous merchant, she and Levy both got too many duties. They rarely saw each other now, but every time spent with those two were moments of bliss.  
That's exactly why she couldn't do this. They were like siblings, why wouldn't her parents understand? Levy plumped down on the bed, hugging the pillow tightly. The crying had worn her out, and she dozed off, her breath still a bit shaky.

...

"You're gonna marry Levy-chan?" Lucy shrieked in surprise, dropping the spoon she was currently eating pork stew with. Her eyes were wide with shock, and she didn't even notice that her mouth hang wide open while she was still eating. Gray sighed and took another mouthful of the stew, looking at the blonde like she had just said something ridiculously stupid. Of course, her reaction was. He waved her off with his free hand, and swallowed the food before answering.

"Of course I won't. She's a friend, I only need to figure out a way to stop this." The black-haired man moaned, eying her like it was obvious. Lucy sighed in relief, looking a bit shameful for ever doubting her friends.

"Then I will help you, I mean, Levy-chan have enough at her hands for the time being, I can't let this happen to her!" Lucy glared at the wall like it was it's decision, and shoved another spoon into her mouth. Her brown eyes were fierce, and her gesture determined. What was Levy-chan thinking right now? Was she sad? Angry? What would she do? Whatever her resolve was, Lucy intended to use every bit of her free time to get those two out of this mess. Gray probably knew what she was thinking, and nodded at her. Their fight had begun.

At that time, a lone person entered the room. His footsteps were calm, but there were something serious about him. Lucy and Grey turned around to the Pink-haired man that had just moved across the floor. Lucy glanced at him.

"Natsu, I need your help. The case is..."

"I know." the guy named Natsu replied. "As your bodyguard, I'm thoroughly informed about every matter at your hand." Lucy was stunned. The usually silly attitude and toothy grin were replaced by a serious gesture that only appeared when he was on duty. And his onyx-eyes were shining determinedly. She knew, that helping her in every way possible indeed was his duty. Lucy examined with her eyes. She then took a deep breath before starting to explain.

"Well, what I want you to do, is..."

...

When Levy woke up, it was already past 12 pm. The sun had set, and the already black sky was covered in millions of silver-glittering stars. She had left the veranda door open, so a pleasant breeze blew into the room and made the white curtains look like ghosts, as they were slowly moving in the wind. The bluenette slowly got out of the bed and shuffled drowsy over to the bathroom. As soon as the light was turned on, she could see herself clearly in the mirror. Her eyes were swollen from crying, and her hair was a tangled mess of blue hair. (Well, it was usually quite messy, but now it was messier than usual.)  
The princess turned on the sink and scooped the cold water with her hands, tossing it in her face. She gasped as soon as the chilly water hit her skin, but continued to rub it into her eyes. When she looked back, most of the poufy-reddish color was already gone, and in little to no time she would look like she had never cried. She rubbed the towel against her face, and went out to the dark bedroom. There, she walked straight to the midst of the room, saying nothing at all.

It was like her face-wash had also cleansed her mind. Now her head felt clearer than ever, and a plan started to form in her head. Not a genius plan, more like an emergency plan, but maybe it would work out. She clenched her fists, staring out the window at the huge, shining moon. She had decided now.

She would run away.


	2. Chapter 2

**So here is chapter 2. Since this is my first fanfiction, it's mostly a practice thing and the chapters won't be very long. But I hope you will enjoy it anyway.**

Geez, not even 2000 words this time... I hope 1900 is close enough though. 

**The amazing adventures of  
princess Levy!**

Chapter 2

The amazing escape.

The castle was like a fortress. No ordinary human could possibly get inside those walls and get out in one piece. But Gajeel Redfox was no ordinary human. He had survived several burglaries in massive mansions without getting caught red-handed. Nobody had ever found him after he had finished his job, and so, the money on his head had grown quite a lot the past years. But this place was something different. He knew that painfully well, as his last attempt had almost killed him. If he were someone else, it definitely would. This time, as he gazed up at the huge castle-walls, he couldn't help but feel a bit anxious. Hell, this place was huge. Luckily, nobody had spotted him yet, as he hid in the shadows, carefully looking for an opening in the sick security. His long, raven-black spiky hair melded good into the background, and he had been smart enough to put on dark clothes as well. The several piercerings in his face gleamed weakly in the spotlights from the castle.  
He was quick to notice that the left corner of the wall weren't as illuminated as the other sides. Without making the slightest sound, the skilled man moved across the dark streets to the safest spot to hide near the darkest corner of the castle-wall. There, he planned his assault.

The bluenette developed her cutting edge plan in her mind. She would run away, but how? Maybe if she let out a rope from her balcony, her room were in the castle-wall after all. Of course, once she was down she had to run, just to make sure they didn't come to get her. Then where would she go? Maybe to the mountains? Yes, that's it! The mountains. She would live in the nature, doing whatever she wanted to. And there nobody would find her for sure.

The princess searched her entire room for something that could serve as a rope. After searching for an hour or so, a brilliant idea struck her mind. Her gowns were always covered in massive silk-bonds, and if she tied those together, it might work. It was a shame though, to rip them off and destroy her gowns, but she had no choice. A bit sad, she pulled out one dress after another out of her closet and started to tear the bonds and ribbons off, tying them together. It was hard to make sure the knots were firm enough, but she somehow managed to make a rope out of it.  
The end of it were tied to the bed. That way she wouldn't pull it out when she slid down. Lastly, the princess put everything she needed to survive, or was precious to her, in a bag. Including a journal. her intention was to record everything that happened on her journey for later enjoyment.  
Finally, everything was prepared, and the only thing left was to run. It was with shaky hands that she threw the rope out the window and took a last farewell with her own home.

Gajeel was caught off guard when a huge silk rope was tossed out of one of the windows and hit him straight in the head. The muffled pain made him rub his head in confusion. He had been hiding as close to the castle-wall as possible, since it provided the best shade. but now, he was certain he had been seen. His eyes trailed upwards the great wall in panic, only to find it deserted and silent. The thief allowed himself to sigh in relief, before he glanced at the rope. A smirk made it's way to his lips. This was like an invitation inside. It looked damn suspicious, but every other plan he had thought of seemed impossible compared to this. With careful movements, he started to climb the rope.

Levy started to exit the window, holding the rope in a tight grip. It was harder than imagined to climb down, as her hands started to hurt almost immediately, and the massive dress and bag didn't make it any easier. When she had climbed some meters down, she noticed that the silk-rope was creaking ominously. She didn't weight too much, did she? After all, people had always said she was to skinny, and that she had to eat more. Somehow, it really didn't add up. Why would the rope give in when she perfectly knew she wasn't too heavy. When she was about ten meters from the ground, and the rope sounded like it would rip any time, she glanced below. She froze in place immediately. A man was climbing the rope, but the opposite way as her. And the massive muscles he had that added a great deal of weight wasn't the only problem. Due to the fact that she wore a dress, he kind of had the ideal view. After some seconds in silence, he looked up and spotted her as well. Even if he didn't do it intentional, Levy could see that his eyes where trailing to a certain place. With a shriek, she pulled her dress to block the view, totally unaware of that she had just let go off the rope. Panic struck her as she begun to fall. A scream escaped her lips as she hit the man below with her butt, and tumbled downwards. The man lost his grip at the rope as soon as she crashed into him, and both fell to the ground. A giant bush had made the fall less painful, and Levy had landed on top of the guy and given him an unintentional strike right in the belly which made him gasp in pain.  
The bluenette rubbed her butt. It had really hurt to fall, though the guy below and the dress had prevented a fatal blow. Now she was sitting on top of him in an awkward position with branches and leaves stuck in her already messed up hair.  
It took a moment to realize the position they were in, and when she looked down, a huge, muscular guy with raven-black hair glared back with a get-the-hell-off-me stare.

Gajeel was dumbstruck, but mostly pissed. For some reason, a girl had been falling from the sky and knocked him to the ground. If that wasn't enough, she had used him as a cushion, and the rage that was building inside him ignored the apologizing look at her face. Instead, he had pushed the petite girl away from his aching tummy, and rubbed his sore back. The midget had been caught off guard, and whined in surprise as he tossed her away. She had quickly sat up and given him a accusing glare. He only glared in reply.  
Both of them were caught in a staring contest, where none wanted to admit they were at fault for the crash. After a while, he couldn't hold it back anymore.

"What the hell are you doing? Everyone knows this is my territorial!" he bellowed. It was half true. When Gajeel decided for the next prey, nobody wanted to interfere. And that a tiny shrimp had gone and raided this place before him was agitating as hell. The bluenette blinked in surprise. As she hadn't understood his statement.

"What do you mean? I was here first!" she hissed. Gajeel was taken aback. Not only had she barged into his target, but she also dared to talk back to him. A grin linked both his ears. This woman was a cheeky one.

"That doesn't count, midget." he grinned viciously. The said person gasped in defiance.

"How dare you!" she shrieked. For a thief, she seemed quite classy.

"Who are you?" a voice called out from the castle and interrupted their arguing. Both of them froze in place, terrified by the fact that they were discovered. Levy chewed on her lip, pondering on what to do. With her huge dress, a mad dash wasn't the ideal situation. The black-haired guy had already stood up and started his escape. Levy got flooded with panic as her only company (she didn't care who it was) started to move.

"Wait up! You got to take me with you!" she shrieked frightened after him. The bluenette completely ignored the fact that she was asking for help from a completely stranger, not to mention he was scary. The guy stopped on his track, and Levy let out a little sigh of relief. However, he only turned to give her another glare.

"Why the hell should I?" he shouted back. Levy bit her lip. He had a point. Why would he help a complete stranger? She frantically searched her bag for something to bargain with. Obviously, the male found her to slow, and started to run again.

"Wait! You have to take me with you!" Levy panicked, still searching in her bag.

"Why?" he shouted without turning to look at her.  
A triumphant grin linked her ears as she pulled up a fat pile of bills.

"I got money." she said gleefully.  
The man stopped, slowly turning his head to witness the offer. She waved it towards him like she was calling for a dog. A smile found it's way to his lips as he saw the bunch of paper bills in her hand.  
Now that was something else.

...

Natsu had just returned from the first part of his mission. He threw away the traveling bag the moment he entered his room and searched his pockets for a tiny scrap of paper. The room was a bright one, with white walls and a messed-up bed in the corner. A desk stood right beside it, and the drawers were filled to the brim with all sorts of weird stuff that made them impossible to close. The room wasn't very big, but heaps of clothes, souvenirs and other things were scattered around the floor. Big windows provided the light that was needed, and lit up the room with a gentle light.

Natsu was tired from riding that horse carriage the entire night, because the Gods had 'blessed' him with a very painful version of motion sickness. Now bags were hanging beneath his eyes, and the clothes were dirty as well as drenched in sweat. Natsu sighed as he put the piece of paper on the table, leaving a note as well for Lucy to read. Right now he just wanted a shower and a good sleep. He dragged himself towards the bathroom, but paused as a familiar knock on the door was heard. Lucy snuck her head through the opening in the door, just making sure he was alright.

"You okay? You look dead to me." she stated in a worried voice. The blonde entered the door and drew closer with careful steps.  
Natsu only grinned in response, pointing proudly at the piece of paper at the desk.  
Lucy clapped her hands gleefully together, and grabbed the paper.  
She was about to give him a thank-you hug as well, but quickly pulled back while pinching her nose.

"Just go get a shower, okay?" she laughed through her pinched nose. "I'll be back soon."  
She patted his back, giving him a dazzling smile.

"And thanks for the help." the blonde smiled shyly, before skipping out of the door.  
Natsu watched her back as she exited the room, a content smile linking both his ears.


	3. Chapter 3

So I guess I answer reviews here. ^^ (haha, ok I'll do my best.)  
So thanks for the sweet reviews, kurisu313, ashleynormanann, piranha-pk and SakuraIchigoDark. I appreciate it so much. ^^

And to all my other readers, I will do my best to not disappoint you. *laughs* That can be a challenge. ^^;

And I do not own fairy tail!  
Bet everyone already knows that. ^^  
Hiro Mashima (c)

_

The amazing adventures of  
Princess Levy!

Chapter 3.

The amazing bittersweet freedom.

Levy had never expected this. Of course, she knew that running away wouldn't exactly be a child's play, but this was over the top. Right now, she had just been thrown harshly over the shoulder of a big, black-haired brute who only helped her because of the pay.  
And he didn't exactly run in a smooth movement. He dashed over the bumpy ground in a way that caused Levy to make small jumps up and down. That again, caused his shoulder to repeatedly hit her tummy.

She had never in her life been handled this way before. Back home, they would gently lift her in a bridal-fashion to make sure she was always comfortable. The first minutes of her so-called freedom wasn't what she had been hoping for. Actually, it was the exact opposite. But as a royal representative for the people, going back on her words was no opinion. If an escape had been the resolve, then she would go through with it. No matter what. Instead; she decided to make the best out of it.

"Can't you carry me a bit nicer?" she pleaded through gritted teeth. Each strike sent a wave of pain through her belly.

"Why should I? You're no fucking princess!" he yelled back, seemingly annoyed about the complaining. After all; he, of all people, had been so kind as to lend a hand! Levy almost shout back that she_ actually is a princess, and a darn important one! _But she bit her lip and suppressed the urge. To reveal her identity after five minutes would definitely be a bummer. Instead, she tried a different approach.

"But I paid you! You are required to handle me properly!" the bluenette declared. Gajeel's eyes widened at her choice of words. If the situation hadn't been like this, one could believe that they were bargaining about job salaries. _Who the hell is this girl?_ Her way of speaking was way to royal for being a bloody burglar! And not to mention the fancy dress she showed up in as she came raining down from the sky. Something was completely off with this whole concept, and it made him ponder for a while; which was, extremely weird for him to do.

He fanned away the thought. Like she was of any worthy status. The girl had probably stolen the dress when she raided the place anyway. And who in their righteous mind would run away from a regal place if they actually were welcome there? The punches and kicks lashed out against his body made him snap out of his oh-so-unusual brainstorming.

"Don't! carry! me! this! way!" she shrieked, each word followed by another strike. A vein popped in his forehead, and if it wasn't for the solid pile of bucks she literally had shoved into his hands; then an uppercut against her haughty little head would have been his ultimate pleasure. Instead, Gajeel slowly turned his head around, giving her one of his special death-glares.

"You want to be dragged along the ground instead, shrimp?" he hissed. Levy immediately stopped the kicks and punches. His dark blood-red eyes made goose pumps prickle all over her skin. they were like bottomless pits of pure hatred. Seriously, that guy was immensely scary when he wanted to. She used her common sense to shut her mouth and let him sprint along with her over his shoulder. A glance down verified her worries. The road was covered with dirt and rocks. Pebbles were scattered around, and the roots that stuck out from the mud looked anything but comfortable.  
Compared to the ground; shoulder-slamming wasn't so bad after all.

[...]

Lucy stared out the window of the horse-driven carriage. Her mind constantly wandering off to possible ways of Levy-reactions. As she had always been a passionate writer, constant worries about her_ a bit too colorful_-imagination had been passed on to her, with regards and tips about somebody to talk to. _Screw those people _she mentally cursed. It wasn't like she was insane or anything. She gave herself a quick scolding for the inappropriate way of thinking.

She was aware of her little _problem_. But it didn't stop her from worrying about her best friend's mental state. Pictures of Levy shutting herself inside her closet and live the rest of her life locked inside except for receiving a cookie through a tiny gap in the door now and then, kept popping up in her mind.

She shook her head like she was trying to get rid of a giant mosquito, not allowing such depressive thoughts. _Everything will work out for sure, we just need to carry out the plan to gain some time._ The blonde clenched the tiny scrap of paper in her fist. There, heaps of names were scribbled down (with a very shaky and barely read-able handwriting), all belonging to different sons from great families clans all over the great kingdom of Fiore. The purpose of the plan was to give Levy's parents some other candidates, so they would have enough time to consider a way to get out of this mess.

But for now, she only hoped that Levy was okay.

"We're here, miss Heartfilia." the driver called out, as the wagon slowed down it's pace and finally stopped by the enormous gate. Lucy got out of the carriage, quickly bowed to the driver and hurried towards the massive entrance of the Mcgarden castle. Gaining access was as usual a piece of cake, since she had been there countless of times before, and all the guards knew her. The gates creaked in protest as they were forced open. The guards waved cheerfully in her direction as she passed the entrance, giving a hasty nod in reply. Due to the hurry she was in, a proper greeting was out of the question.

The castle had a weird feeling to it. The air was heavy, and the usually bustling courtyards were now ominous silent. A maid hurried now and then past her, but apart from that, the place was deserted. Lucy scooted through the creepy hallways. Distant cries of wolves of birds filled the lonely night. Light poured out from the windows, and the towers were decorated with star-like dots.

The blonde reached the grand hall after a couple of minutes. Several doors and archways connected with the rest of the castle, and poor souls could end up wandering lost if they weren't familiar with this maze of a castle. Lucy, however, had been spending days here playing hide and seek with Levy and Gray. The inside of her friends home were as familiar as her own pocket.  
She crossed the room and started climbing up a winding staircase. The second door to the left led into the main hallway. Going right would lead directly towards the king's office.

A nauseatic feeling kept growing in her tummy for every step she drew closer to the King's office. Bright red carpets ran along the floor, and paintings filled all empty space on the walls. Portraits of great rulers stared down at her, lighted up by the suspended lamps in the roof.

She carefully leaned her ear against the sign that read 'Claude Mcgarden'. muffled sounds could be heard from the other end, but it was almost impossible to catch what was said. The blonde pressed her head closer to the door, feeling the cold wood push against her skin. However, eavesdropping led to nowhere, so it was with a slow motion, she put her hand at the doorhandle, turned it around and peeked through the tiny opening in the door gap.

The room was dimly lit, and the only light source was a fireplace at the east wall. The white brick chimney shot through the roof, and a metal grate prevented sparks to fly and lit up the royal-red carpet that covered the floor. large bookcases cast eerie shadows along the purple walls. Lucy bet that each of those contained at least a hundreds of books. The only person that owned more books than the king himself, was his only daughter. In the far end below the huge mosaic window, sat the king, the queen and the lieutenant of the military security service at the desk, having conversations that were now and then interrupted by the queen's sobs.

Claude's eyes were depressed, but a blazing anger shone in them. He seemed more agitated than sad, compared to his wife.  
Miranda's eyes were poufy and red, dark lines ran below her eyes. A handkerchief rested in her right hand, and was now and then brought up to her face to wipe the corner of her emerald eyes. The lieutenant was as intimidating as ever, as his presence filled the entire office with a sense of superiority.

Lucy drew closer with cautious steps. They had not yet noticed her, as they continued to mumble to each other in a dull voice. She coughed a bit to gain their attention, suddenly feeling a bit awkward. They all snapped out of the discussion and stared at her with surprised gestures. It was obvious that they had just noticed her presence.

Lucy let her eyes wander from each one of them, pondering on what the cause of the distress was. Her thoughts immediately snapped back at Levy locked inside her closet. A shiver went down her spine. If the king's eyes were so serious, then what had she done? And what did Claude plan to do? And why was the lieutenant here? Military punishment would be to go too far.

With a quick movement with his right hand, the king gestured for her to come closer. It was with nervous steps that she drew closer, not knowing whether to regret her action. Claude examined her with a mind-blowing stare. Lucy knew better than anyone, except Levy and Gray, that keeping calm while being watched with these eyes was anything but easy. She squirmed a bit due to the unwanted attention. His eyes stayed locked at her as he started to speak in a monotone voice.

"Did Levy contact you before midnight?" he asked, still torturing her with his gaze. The blonde flashbacked at the events that had happened that day, but she had no memory of getting a call from Levy. So she simply shook her head, eyes looking down. Suddenly, she regretted coming here. The only thing that kept her from sprinting out the door as soon as she had the possibility was the fact that all this was about her very best friend. When she turned her gaze up again, determination flashed through her chocolate eyes.

"What happened to her?" she whispered. "Please tell me."

The queen glanced up at the king with bright red, tear stained eyes. Her look was slightly questioning. He gave a hasty nod in approval, and she then moved her eyes back to Lucy, clearing her throat.

"Levy has..." she was interrupted by a huge sob, and took a quick pause to calm down. She then continued with a muffled voice.

"Levy has been kidnapped."

[...]

They had been fleeing for about ten minutes, and Levy was growing tired of the tummy-ache. The black-haired brute didn't seem to break a sweat, even if he had been running full throttle all the time. But finally, he seemed to slow down, and the wild sprint turned into an average, jogging movement. Thus, the shoulder-slamming stopped. The bluenette sighed in relief and turned over to the back of the black, spiky head.

"Are we soon there?" she asked while nudging his shoulder lightly. He immediately stopped jogging and Levy felt a sudden motion as he grabbed her tiny frame and lifted her roughly of his shoulder. He then held her in front of him so their eyes were at the same level. The bluenette felt her feet dangling through the air, searching for solid ground. However, that was pointless. He just kept holding her above the ground.

"I forgot I brought you!" he snapped. Levy's eyes widened. What? He forgot he carried a teenager on his shoulder? _What's with this guy?_ She scowled. She shrieked in surprise as he suddenly let go of her, causing her to fall with her butt to the ground for the second time that day. She shot daggers with her eyes at the guy who had just dropped her like that. The glare that met her caused her to flinch, and she crawled backwards. Gajeel snorted, and turned his back on her. Levy felt her heart drop as he started to walk away from her, and got to her feet in a hurry. The place they had stopped happened to be a dark forest, and a forest wasn't actually the ideal place for her to spend the night.

"Wait! Where are you going?" she screamed at him. He didn't turn around this time, just kept on walking.

"Home." he explained simply, as he kept on walking.

"But what about me? Are you just going to leave me here?" the poor princess blurted out. He didn't slow down his pace, just kept on moving. Levy started to follow him, frightened to loose his back.

"Yes." he answered. "I don't owe you anything."

"But I paid you!" she countered.

"To get out of there." he pointed out. "Now you're out of there."  
Levy bit her lip, looking for a valid reason for bringing her with him. She couldn't just pay him for letting her stay at his place. She would run out of money sooner or later, and when that time arrived, he would probably kick her out. Alone in a forest with no money, even if it were hardly needed there, would be suicide. That much she knew.

"You have to take me with you! I got no other place to go!" she cried out in frustration. He turned around so they faced each other. Levy sweatdropped as his expression were totally straight.

"I don't care." he snarled back at her. "Just beat it. I have no intention of letting you into my home!"

With that, he dashed away and disappeared into the forest. The princess had no chance of keeping up, and she was soon all alone.  
The bluenette shuffled over to a lone three and sat down by the trunk. The air was chilly, but at least the sky was clear. Thousands of stars were scattered around the sky that was visible through the branches. They gleamed like diamonds, and a part of her calmed down a bit by the sight. A sudden gust of cold wind made her curl together, hugging her knees for a bit more warmth. She already missed her comfy bed back home. When she was young, her mother would always come to her if she was cold or scared. Then she would wrap her arms around her daughter and whisper sweet fairy tales to soothe her. It always worked, and normally it didn't take a long time before she fell asleep in her mother's embrace.

A stray tear trickled down her cheek. Why did she run away? She could have just talked it out instead! But here she was, lost in a dark forest in the middle of the night, already on her way to freeze to death. More tears welled up in her eyes.  
She missed her mom. She missed the warmth of her home. She missed the safety of her family. All she wanted to do now was to go home. But she couldn't. She already knew when she ran away, that there were no way back. And now she would die all alone in the darkness.

Her eyelids slid close, as the escape had been really tiring. The world faded into a black pit as she dozed off. Her fate was sealed, and she couldn't do anything but accept it. That was the last thought that crossed her mind before she fell asleep under the starry sky.

[...]

Lucy hurried to the western part of the castle, following the king that were walking in front of her. Their footsteps were hasty, and none of them said a word. They just kept walking through the hallways in silence. After a while, the king finally spoke.

"Here it is." he said with a monotone voice, gesturing for the door in front of him. It had the same design as his own, a wooden one with a dark brown color. However, the golden sign on the door read 'Levy Mcgarden' instead. The blonde slowly approached the door. The sound of her heartbeat was reverberating through her head, and her palms were sweating as she grabbed the doorknob and turned it carefully around.  
The moment her eyes trailed over the princess' room, her breath got caught in her throat.

The room was completely devastated. Drawers were pulled out and the content were scattered around the floor. Dresses had been dragged out of the closet and all of them were ripped to shreds. A long silk rope hung out from the window, pointing out what the dresses had been destroyed for. It was almost as she didn't feel her feet as she made her way through the rubble on the floor. Someone had been searching for something, and on top of that, Levy was gone too. Lucy moved to the middle of the room, looking around with a terrified expression. Her vision got blurry all of a sudden, and she didn't realize what it was until something wet dripped down her cheek. The king moved slowly over to the place she was standing, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"We will find Levy, no matter what." he whispered. A tad of grief was clear in his voice. "I promise."

Lucy nodded slowly, drying her tears off with the sleeve on her dress.

"Yeah. We will." she breathed.

[...]

When the princess regained consciousness , something big and soft covered her body, wrapped so tight around her so she barely could move. It was incredibly warm, and a feeling of safety rushed through her body. the bluenette's eyes were still closed, but she could her birds singing in a cheerful voice. According to the feeling in the air, and the bright sun that had just emerged in the horizon, it was morning.

She rolled over and slowly opened her eyes. It took a moment to adjust her eyes to the brightness, but after a moment of blinking and squinting, the scenery came into focus. She was still lying in the forest, but now a huge quilt were wrapped around her body. Despite the several patches and ripped ends, it was like a gift from God. With a grunt of pain, she slowly forced her body to sit in upright position. As her head started to clear up, several questions started to make their way into her head. The first one was the most relevant, and it really didn't make any sense at all.

_Who had given her this quilt?_

She smiled at herself. Whoever it was had anyway just saved her life. She made a mental note to thank her savior if she ever found him/her.

It took some time for Levy to completely wake up. So she sat for a long time by the tree trunk, rubbing her eyes and yawning loudly. It definitely was something else than waking up in a castle. There, maids would always come in with breakfast in the morning. Her tummy really missed the platter of eggs, bacon and cereal. It was giving away loud grumbling, and Levy caressed her belly.

"Sorry pal." she laughed ironically. It really was lonely there. All she had to talk to was her empty belly. The bluenette laughed a bit at her own pity, admitting the fact that she was about to go insane. She had never been to a forest. Of course, as the castle-library was chock-full of books; reading was one of her spare-time activities, and she was sure that she had blattered through a book about the topic at least once. She searched through her memory for some valuable information about basic survival-skills.  
_  
First, you need to find a water source.  
_  
A river trickled past at her left side, so she guessed that was one point down. She managed to worm her way to the riverbank in a klutzy fashion. Goosebumps prickled up her skin as she scooped up the cold water with her hands, throwing it in her face. The thought of not washing her face in the morning freaked her out, no matter if she was in a deserted forest or not. The feeling of cool water in her face gave her a reminder on how thirsty she was; and she managed, with a bit of effort, to preserve a handful of water in her palms long enough to bring it to her lips and shove it into her mouth.

The fresh water cooled down her dry throat, and quenched the thirst that had lingered since the escape that night. With a sigh of relief; the princess fell back on the grass covered ground, letting the grass tickle her cheeks and the summer breeze caress her skin. Even if the situation was somewhat critical, it wasn't a bad place to be for the time being. A sense of freedom cursed through her veins and made her squeal a bit in joy. She was free. She was finally free!

_Crack_

Levy shot up in a sitting position, eyes darting around in the forest. Up to now, she had been certain that her sorry self had been the only human in this place.  
Another branch snapped under a strangers foot. The bluenette quickly got to her feet, scooting over to a huge, green bush below an old oak. The leaves provided a decent shelter from preying eyes, and her own brown ones trailed along the trees. As another branch cracked, she remembered one of the most important facts about surviving in the forest. Her heartbeat raced in her chest and her pulse were pounding in her temples while her face turned white as a sheet.

_The forest is a home for many predators and man-eating monsters. _

_  
(For the first time:) **Author's note! **

Cliffhanger! *dumdum* I like to do it that way, since I (hopefully) get to surprise you in the next chapter.  
(Oh yeah.)

And who manage to guess what the cause of the sound is?

But on to the basic:  
I'm okay with how it turned out I guess, trying to get more awesome words, so I constantly have to use the dictionary. And I think this one is a bit longer than the others (almost 4K words!), so yeah. I'm on my way! Lol.

Please leave a review, I love them all! Especially the constructive ones. ;)


	4. Chapter 4

**Haha, so I got a lot of funny reviews on chapter 3. Thank you very much SakuraIchigoDark, kurisu 313 and piranha pk. As for HeartGold12: Thanks for the very encouraging and hilarious reviews, I laughed really hard. C:  
(And I won't punch you in the face, sorry.^^; )**

And some things to sum up:  
You questioned the fact that they thought Levy was kidnapped. But think over it. If you came into your friend's/daughter's room and it was completely destroyed + that she was gone, what would you think?

People tend to not like Levy's parents, and I get why.  
But we haven't heard the reason for their choice, right? I plan to work it out later, so wait for it. ;)  
But you guys don't like Lucy? Awww, I wanted to make her a good friend. She's just trying to help, isn't she?

And mainly you guys guessed that either Gajeel or the The monster/Sid-creature/bear-goat-hybrid/el chupracabra/Rattata-creature are the source of the sound. Let's see if you're right. ^^

_

**Chapter 4- The amazing cottage.  
**

Another branch snapped as something unfamiliar moved through the forest. Levy hugged her knees, attempting to not move a single muscle. At least the leaves hid her visible presence, but a predator could easily sniff her down. She held her breath as long as possible before exhaling really slow so nobody would hear her. Her muscled were stiff from sitting the entire time, but the fear of being noticed by whatever it was kept her frozen in place. The footsteps drew closer, and now she could hear leaves being crunched under it's feet/paws.

Her heartbeat pounded in her temples, sweat dripping from her forehead. The creature was mere meters away from her now. The bluenette squeezed her eyes shut hoping that it would pass by as soon as possible. But as she did that, the footsteps stopped. She didn't know if it was her imagination or not but the forest was suddenly deadly quiet. Not a whisk of the wind or the tweet of a bird. With a slow motion, she opened one of her eyes to see if the creature was gone.  
It wasn't.  
Instead, two dark blue eyes were staring at her through the branches.

Levy let out a shriek, stumbling backwards as she covered herself with her hands. Like a mirror, the creature in front of her did the same. It took a few seconds for Levy to realize that the other's scream had been surprisingly high-pitched. She got back at her feet and stared at the being in front of her.

It wasn't a predator, nor a monster. Instead it was a girl.

"Y-you surprised Juvia." the girl said with a shaky breath. Her hair was the same shade of blue as herself, but compared to Levy's messy short ones, this girl's hair was long with wavy curls.

Levy sighed in relief, happy that she at the moment weren't a monster-meal. The girl named Juvia examined her with a curious look.

"What are you doing out here?" she asked. "And why is your clothing so... fancy?"

Levy immediately frowned at the thought of the reason she was here. She turned back to the girl, a fierce anger burning in her eyes.

"Some big, black-haired brute dumped me here." she snarled and crossed her arms over her chest. Juvia blinked at her statement.

"Black-haired brute? You mean long, black and spiky hair?" Juvia questioned, tapping her chin with her index finger.

"You know him?" Levy stuttered in surprise.

"Yes Juvia does." she nodded. "So do you mind telling Juvia how you ended up here?"

Since this girl didn't seem like any threat, Levy decided to trust her for the time being. So she told her story from where she had climbed the rope avoiding to explain who she was and her family issues. She only told the part where the brute had snapped her money and carried her like some potatosack into this forest and just dumped her there. Juvia nodded or gave small "hmm" or "I see" during the storytelling. When she was done explaining, the girl sat in deep thoughts, clearly upset about something.

"He never learns.." she mumbled, half sighed. Levy didn't catch what she had just whispered and sat with a dumb expression on her face. A loud, churning sound interrupted their thinking, and Levy immediately slapped her arms around her stomach. She hadn't eaten since yesterday's lunch and the lack of food started to make a number on her.  
Juvia giggled a bit, and a soft smile pulled her lips.

"You hungry?" she grinned. "I actually live quite nearby, we can go there and grab a lunch."

Levy felt a warm feeling growing inside her. The happiness of at least knowing one person in this outback gave her a small hope. The tiny bluenette stood up, smiling cheerfully at the girl.

"Yes, that would be great!" she laughed while rubbing her tummy. Juvia giggled and reached out her hand. Levy grabbed it, shaking it gleefully.

"My name is Juvia Loxar." she smiled softly. "It's nice to meet you."

I'm L-" A pang of realization struck her mind. If she said her name, they would definitely find out who she is sooner or later. An awkward pause followed, and Juvia started to look at her with a puzzled look.

"I'm... I'm Laura!" she yelled, a bit too loud. It was the first and best name that had come to her mind. But the fact that she had acted awfully suspicious when she had done something as simply as telling her name, ought to make Juvia wonder if it actually was her name.  
But she didn't seem to mind, as she quickly got to her feet and smiled broadly.

"Let's go then." she mused.  
Levy nodded slowly.

"Yes."

[_]

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

Levy was completely caught off guard as the outburst had just made her jump a few feet back while screaming. The cabin in the wood had seemed really cozy at first. Grass covered the roof and the walls were painted in a deep brown color with shiny red sills.

But most of all the fact that lunch awaited through that door made her hum a happy tune while turning the doorknob. Of course she had not expected that the person she definitely didn't want to see right now lived in that exact house, and that he would literary freak out once he saw her enter the door. Levy put her hand at her chest over her racing heart in an attempt to calm it down. The black-haired brute (she knew his name, but thought that it was way more fitting) got to his feet and stomped over to her pitiful self on the ground, glowering fiercely at her. A tiny _eep_ escaped her lips as she crawled backwards, not wanting to feel his wrath. Luckily, Juvia stepped between them while protecting Levy with a determined stare.

"This girl is Juvia's guest." she scowled. "Juvia will not let you hurt her!"

"Guest? This midget? I left her in the forest for a reason dammit!" Gajeel bellowed, still giving Levy a mean glare.

"You should not just dump people in the forest like a trashbag!" Juvia countered.  
Another woman walked up to Gajeel's side, patting his shoulder.

"A girl is not a tool you know. Treat her well." she said strictly, giving him a deadly look which made goosebumps prickle all over Levy's tiny frame.  
Gajeel frowned, obviously aware of the fact that this fight would not be won so easily. He hissed a _fine!_ and went to the other side of the room where he sat down by a pile of scrap metal, starting to tinker a bit with it.

The woman that had defended her walked over to Levy, offering a hand. The bluenette noticed that this one was immensely beautiful. Long scarlet hair hung down her back, and a sense of inimitability emanated from her. Levy noticed after a time that she had been caught staring wide-eyed at the woman and quickly grabbed her hand to get up. The woman ignored Levy's little _thank you_ and turned to Juvia with a strict manner.

"I told you to not bring strangers, didn't I? Who knows if they are bad business?" The intimidating gesture that filled her  
Entire being made Levy cringe in fear. This woman was even scarier than both the brute and the lieutenant together. But surprisingly enough, Juvia stood her ground.

"It was Gajeel's fault that she ended up there, we have to help." Another voice said from inside the hut. A cute girl with short, white hair tapped her chin, flashing Levy a quick smile. "Don't you think so too, Erza?"  
The woman named Erza pondered on it for a bit, before sighing heavily. She turned to Levy, scratching the back of her head.

"If it's his responsibility, then I guess we got no choice." she said in defeat. The white-haired girl walked over to Levy's side, reaching out her hand to give Levy's a shake.

"I'm Lisanna, and as you probably know by now, this bossy captain here is Erza" Lisanna giggled. Erza frowned by her words, mumbling something like _don't call me that_. Lisanna only grinned at this, gesturing for Levy to enter the cottage. The room was incredibly cozy, as the walls were painted in a light color, and were mainly made of big logs that were stacked on top of each other. Three doors led to some other rooms, and a staircase in the east-corner accessed to the 2. floor. A table with a bright white cloth was positioned in the middle of the room, a brick-fireplace made up the north wall and the southern part of the room was a kitchen with a stove and refrigerator.

Lisanna pulled out a chair for Levy to use, and she sat down with an unsure movement. For some reason, this girl named Lisanna almost seemed _suspiciously_ friendly. Levy's worried immediately vanished as Lisanna put a platter filled with a sandwich and several forestfruits on the table. The white-haired girl sat down on the opposite chair of her, watching the bluenette with slight amusement.

"Oh! I nearly forgot!" she suddenly uttered, clasping her hands together. "What is your name?" Levy looked up from her lunch and swallowed a mouthful of apple.

"Umm... My name is Laura." Levy stuttered. Lisanna looked at her with a piercing look, a smile still covering her lips. She had that kind of eyes that made you feel that she could read your soul. On top of that, the sensation of Gajeel's (oh, she called him his name now.) burning glare in her neck was anything but pleasant.  
She excused herself, putting the sandwich back at the plate.

"Can I take a rest somewhere? I feel really exhausted." she asked in an awkward voice. It was mostly an excuse, due to the fact that she practically just had woke up. Juvia bounced off a chair and showed her to the middle of the three doors. The room contained two beds and a tiny table with a reading lamp in the middle. Levy sat down on the right bed, falling back on the sheets and letting her eyelids slide close. Though she wasn't very tired, she eventually fell asleep in some strangers house.  
A smart action? No.  
The only option? Yes.  
The other choice would have been to sleep with the bears tonight. They would probably had eaten her as dinner instead.

[...]

Erza walked up to Lisanna, giving her a curious look. Lisanna was smiling to herself, obviously knowing something the others didn't. Her eyes kept darting to the room Levy was currently in, and every time she did, a little snicker escaped her lips.

"So her name is Laura now, huh?" she mused. Erza really wondered what on earth she was talking about, but chose not to ask as she knew Lisanna could be a real piece of work sometimes. She instead turned to the door as Juvia entered the cottage, carrying a huge quilt over her shoulder.

"You missing something Gajeel?" she questioned, putting the patched-up and torn quilt on the floor. "I found it in the forest, you tend to put your belongings in the weirdest of places don't you?"  
Gajeel frowned as he picked up the quilt and went to the staircase.

"I have no idea how it got there." he hissed. Juvia caught Lisanna's eyes, and they shared a knowing smile before Juvia sat down on the chair opposite her. They eyed Gajeel as he walked up the stairs and out of sight before they both started whispering to each other in an eager voice.

"So, what is your theory?"

[...]

Lucy walked in an instinctive manner through her family's mansion. Her usually sparkling eyes were dead for emotions, and her face was drained for all color. She had been that way all the way home, and the carriage-driver had seemed a bit anxious for what to do. Lucy had never been in a situation like this. And as she did not know what to do, her inner self was a turmoil of feelings hidden beneath a bubble of emptiness.

She rounded another corner and automatically took the second staircase on the right side in the lobby.  
It was still too early in the morning for any of the employments to wake up, and the corridors were completely empty. It was fortunate though, since she didn't feel like meeting any human being right now. She sighed as she reached the door to her room, opening it in a repulsive manner.

She didn't even take notice of that Natsu were in her room, sitting at her light-pinkish bed with a worried expression plastered all over his face.

"Luce...?" he mumbled softly. Lucy looked at him with a monotone gaze, before sitting down at the other end of the bed. She pulled a shaky breath, looking down on her hands.

"Levy is gone." she muttered. "Kidnapped, taken away by force."  
Her hands started to shake, and silver drops of tears dripped down on them.

"I couldn't do anything for her! She's most likely either sad or frightened, probably both. And here I am, in the safety of my own home without the power to do anything! I'm so useless!" Lucy wailed, suddenly popping the emotionless bubble that had consumed her. She hid her face in her hands and her shoulders were shaking. She continued to cry, sobbing loudly.

Natsu stood up and walked to the opposite side of the bed so he was standing right in front of her. He watched the frail girl as she continued to weep. Right now she looked so powerless, yet desperate. he hadn't known her for long and had never seen the bustling blonde like this. Lucy should smile. Lucy should be happy.

It was like he was moving on instinct as he sat down on his knees and gently pulled away her hands from her face. She tried to refuse at first, but then let him expose her face. Her eyes were red and puffed up. Fresh tears ran down her cheeks and her gaze were empty. With his free hand, he slowly moved it to her cheeks to wipe away her remaining tears. His gaze softened, smiling sadly at her.

"One alone cannot track her down, right?" he smiled gently. "But we're two, and with that ice-sherbet we're three."  
Lucy's face lit up slightly by his words. He flashed her one of his signature grins.

"So let's find her. We can do it together."

Lucy nodded, and a new flood of tears emerged in her eyes. She dove forward, burying her face in his chest while bawling her eyes out. Natsu gently stroke her head to calm her down, and after a while her loud sobs were reduced to shaky breaths.

_  
**Author's note:**

Okay, how do you think about this chappy? I can't wait for the next one, have planned some really good stuff. *wink,wink* 

**Unfortunately, nobody guessed right on what the sound was. But I guess I managed to surprise you then. *Oh, yes!***

As for the last scene, I think it didn't go quite the way I hoped, but I guess it's okay. ^^;  
It's actually not much of a shipping-moment, more of an emotional one. But I hope you like it anyway. :)

See you in the next chappy. ^^  



	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for the wait! I really intended to submit earlier, but I just never found the motivation to continue. Yeah, summer vacation. So I'm in a "Ahhh... I can do it later..."-mood right now. ^^; **

**But I managed to finish it anyway, so here it is. :)**

**As for the reviews, thank you kurisu313, piranha pk, izzybr and MeAnimeFreak. **

**As for SakuraIchigoDark, you got a point there. XD But I have actually kept it in mind since I created their little group. ;)**

**And I actually just realized that you, kurisu313, is the writer of "The Iron Knight"!**

**Big fan, just saying. ;)**

**Chapter 5- The amazing can-opener.**

Beams of orange and golden light shone through the openings in the curtains, gently waking Levy up from her nap. Her eyes fluttered open, and she got up in sitting position with a striving movement. It took a while to completely scrutinize the surroundings, but attempting to rub out the sleep in her eyes helped quite a bit. The walls were made up of thick logs painted in a dark-brown color. Two beds, including the one she used, was situated in the room, both with white sheets and matching pillows and quilts.

Her mind was an inner turmoil in whether to get up or just go back to sleep. It wasn't morning but her stomach were making loud grumbling noises, and thus she fling her legs over the edge of the bed. The contact with the floor was torturous as she had taken off her socks, and the cold wood-surface felt like ice. She gritted her teeth while the other foot stepped out on the floor, acclimatizing herself to the cold air in the room. She got to her feet in a wary motion, and proceeded to the door.

The living-kitchen-room was way warmer than the bedroom, and she let out a little sigh of satisfaction as she made her way to the fridge in the kitchen-section. It troubled her, however, that the hut was thoroughly empty. The only activity in the room was herself and the fire that crackled cheerfully in the fireplace. She decided to dodge the issue for now, and instead look for the fridge. Her first destination was a line of white cupboards. But realization struck as neither of them contained anything but canned or dry food. She grumbled irritated while pulling out a box with canned sausage, disappointed with the lack of standard food quality.

She had never in her life experienced something like this. She was actually quite smart, but cooking had never been her thing. A pang of regret hit her as she knew it would have come in handy in a situation like this. Of course she had used canned food before, not on an average basis but now and then just to keep the knowledge in check. But then she had used a can-opener. And no matter how many times she had rummaged through the drawers in the hut's kitchen, it just wouldn't show up! She huffed in annoyance and decided to search for something that could serve as a replacement.

The first and best thing that had emerged when she had explored for a proper utensil, was a decent big but strong dagger. The handle fit good in her hand, and she made up her mind to keep this just in case if she needed it later. The can was placed at the table with one hand, and the other clenched the dagger. She was about the bring the weapon down when the sound of voices could be heard outside. The knife was quickly hidden in a pocket in the skirt before the door flung open and Lisanna, Juvia and Erza stepped trough the door with Gajeel casually walking behind with a huge sack over his shoulder.

They stopped at the entrance as Levy caught their eyes. _This probably looks ridiculous_ Levy reckoned. Right now she was standing in a huge (partly torn from the forest-sleepover) dress with bare feet and messy bedroom-hair. The can stood innocently in front of her, and she fought an urge to trash it out the window. Lisanna, Erza and Gajeel moved into the living room, placing the sack at the table. Lisanna and Gajeel threw themselves at the couch (which creaked ominously), and gained a warning glare from Erza. The redhead sat instead down on a chair beside the others with a more moderate movement.

Juvia gave the other bluenette a curious look, most likely very inquisitive about why she looked like she had just fell down the stairs. Her eyes trailed down to the can in front of her, which seemed to make her connect the dots.

"Need help with that?" she giggled, pointing at the can. Levy frowned slightly, feeling awkwardly moronic at the moment. The princess gave a short nod, still not meeting Juvia's eyes.

"You see, we got no can-opener." Juvia pointed out.

"I kind of figured that out." Levy murmured. Juvia giggled, pointing at Gajeel.

"Instead we let him do it." She finished. Levy's eyes widened. How was it possible that one man could open a can with no can-opener? Did he smash it or something? Or use a huge knife?  
Juvia called out to the now can-opening brute. He looked like he had found himself comfortable in the sofa, but got to his feet with a series of grumbling curses. When the can-opener had shuffled over to their side, Juvia pointed at the can at the table. He looked from the table to the midget sitting by it and back again. An unpleasant frown covered his features as he picked the can up.

Levy couldn't believe what happened after that. Of course, the outside world and it's inhabitants was really unfamiliar to her, but this was beyond her writer-imagination. The can-opening brute had just morphed his entire hand into pure metal and then to a can-opener which he used to open the can with one swift movement. Levy let out a surprised _ek!_ and fell back on her chair. The contact with the hard floor let out a yelp in pain. Gajeel stared dumbfounded at her. The reaction she had just displayed was obviously something else. Juvia went over to Levy's side, helping both her and the chair up in sitting position.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" the petite bluenette shrieked. "THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE!"

Gajeel stared at her. So did Juvia. Both of them looked like the tiny girl had gone insane. Levy's expression was a mix between shock and fear. Her eyes almost popped out of her head and her skin was white as a sheet.

"Umm, Laura-san... Could it be that you have never seen magic before?"

Levy stared wide-eyed at Juvia.

"Magic?"

It took a while, even with her brain capacity, to completely take in this whole new information. The tiny bluenette had never in her wildest imaginations pictured a human type that could master unbelievable skills. Nobody, not the teachers, not her friends and not even her very own mother had told her anything about this. So she was left dumbfounded with a gawping expression on her face. Why had they kept this information hidden from her? Why was this something they wanted to shield her from? Million thoughts and question flashed through her mind at that point, and they all made her even more confused.

The whole concept was ridiculous! That the faith in your own heart made you able to wield powers that conflicted all the laws of nature was absolutely absurd.

"It's not supposed to be possible..." she whispered, half thought. Juvia gave her a pitiful look. That a girl at Laura's age had never even heard the word _magic_ was worrying. But she decided not to dwell on it. After all it looked like Laura was at a mental break-point, due to the fact that she couldn't figure out the concept.  
Juvia got closer to her, and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Do you know how bumblebees are able to fly?" she asked. Levy looked up at her with a confused expression.

"Well in theory, it's not possible. But-"

"But you just have to accept it, right?" Juvia finished, a content smile on her lips. "Some things is not for us humans to understand. We just have to accept how it is and move on."

Levy's features lit up slightly, and she nodded slowly. This magic thing sounded quite interesting. She turned to the other people in the room. All of them looked happy at the moment. Erza sat with a satisfied expression while Gajeel and Lisanna were casually talking about everyday stuff.

It was at that moment something crossed her mind. She took another look at the members of this little group, before turning to the ones in the sofa.

"Just a quick question." she announced, clearing her throat. Erza looked up from the magazine she had just begun reading, Lisanna turned around with a questioning look while Juvia stopped on her way to the others. Gajeel turned around as well, but his expression was a mix between irritation and anger.

"This group is made up of you three girls and the brute, right?" The others looked at each other in silence. A soundless debate argued with their eyes. Levy ignored this and moved on.

"So that means..." she hesitated, before her face turned a bright shade of red. "This is a harem!"

Erza choked, her cheeks turning dark crimson. Lisanna and Juvia broke into fits of hysterical laughter while Gajeel gave them all a murderous look. Levy stared at them in dead seriousness, waiting for an answer.

"HELL NO!" Gajeel bellowed at her. Levy squeaked and jumped backwards. Lisanna put a hand on his shoulder to prevent him from beating some sense into the frail girl. She had some problems with stopping her chortling, but a series of gasping after air calmed the laughter down. Juvia wasn't so lucky, however, and was stilling rolling around the floor while giggling like crazy.

"It's not like that at all." Lisanna chuckled. Fanning away Levy's wild guess with her hand.

"Actually, we got a male member, but he's rarely present." Erza gave her a warning glare, but Lisanna only shrugged in response. Levy let out a little sigh.

But it was still something that was bothering her. She looked at the mess of an audience and pulled a deep breath.

"I've been meaning to ask... How did you all get to this? Stealing I mean. Isn't that illegal?"

It was like something struck the room at once her words was said. Everyone stopped immediately in what they were doing. Erza looked down, both Lisanna and Juvia's laughter and smiles faded.  
A deafening silence filled the room. Had she just said something bad? Why wouldn't they answer?

His movement were to quick for Lisanna to stop this time. With a swipe of his fists he had pinned Levy to the wall, his face mere centimeters from her's with a deadly glare shining dangerously in his eyes. Levy felt the bottom of her stomach fill up with icy fear. Her face turned pale and her breaths were shorter and quicker. Sweatdrops emerged in her neck, and she felt an urge to scream for help. But it was like his stare kept her voice frozen in her throat.

"That is none of your business, got it shrimp?" he hissed venomously. Levy nodded slowly, terrified by his sudden change of attitude. She felt tears appear in her eyes, and her sight got blurry as her voice was still caught in her throat.

A hand grabbed Gajeel's muscular arm, forcing him to let go of the petite girl he had just scared to death. At first, he refused to obey the commanding look from the scarlett-haired woman, but a quick glare from her side made him finally pull back. Levy slowly slid down the wall, landing in a sitting position on the floor. Her legs had given in, and at the moment they felt like jelly. She raised her eyes to look at Erza. The redhead was looking away. A distant look in her eyes. Lisanna and Juvia was sitting in silence. Just looking monotone at the floor.  
Gajeel snorted and went out of the door, slamming it shut with a fierce manner.

Levy felt horrible. She had probably said something really bad, and now the happy mood was ruined all thanks to her. Lisanna looked up from the floor, giving Levy a sympathetic look before standing up heading towards the stairs. Erza picked up the magazine again and hid her face behind it, while Juvia walked over to Levy in silence. Both of them looked down at the floor before Juvia finally broke the silence.

"He tends to overdo it sometimes. But he never means any harm." she said with a sad voice. "Just don't blame him for this."

Levy nodded slowly, and got to her feet before shuffling towards the door. The doorhandle felt cold against her fingers as she slowly opened it. A gust of wind pulled her blue hair and sent a shiver down her spine. The sun had set in the end of the horizon, and the sky had a dark shade of blue. Silver dots of stars gleamed down and lit up the forest with a gentle silverish light. The bluenette stepped outside while casting glances along the dark tree-trunks. The grass below her feet was soft and humid, and her bare skin were already prickled with goosebumps. The gown made up a decent barrier from the cold wind, but because she wore no socks whatsoever, her feet were a freezing contrast to the warm body inside the massive layers of fabric.

After a while, her brown eyes saw what they had been seeking for. Gajeel's huge figure was sitting in the middle of a big clearing, his back facing her. She swallowed before approaching with careful steps.

"What do you want, midget?" Levy let out a little _ep!_ in surprise. His voice was irritated, but he refused to face her. Thus, he looked quite peaceful as he was facing the sky. Levy closed the distant between them and sat down beside him.

"Oy! Who said you could sit there!" He growled with a venomous voice.

"I sit where I want to sit." she stated simply, ignoring his furious glare. Instead she bit her lip, eyes looking away.  
"I'm really sorry." she whispered, still looking at the ground. Gajeel's features froze for a moment, before he sighed and stood up. When he looked back, his bloody red eyes had regained their irritated scowl.

"If that's all you wanted to say." he grunted before he started to walk towards the cabin. Instinctively, Levy grabbed his wrist. He turned around with a mix of anger and surprise. Levy was just as surprised as he was, but she was determined to not finish this halfway.

"Don't go! I'm not done yet!" she ordered, giving him a strict glance. The Erza-imitation didn't seem to faze him much other than him rising an eyebrow. But he stopped on his track and turned around, arms crossed over his chest. Levy gave herself a mental highfive, before carrying on with her talking.

"You never answered my question." she said with far less confidence than it seemed like on the outside. He gave her a deadly glare, but didn't move.

"Like I said, it's none of your business!" he scowled.

"But it is!" Levy countered. He raised an eyebrow at her statement, obviously curious of how she planned to back that up. She got to her feet, staring him dead in the eye. The purpose was originally to look straight into his eyes, but with her height it wasn't as alarming as she had hoped for.

"I also halfway a member of your group now, so I'm required to know!" she tried, knowing that it was only partly true. Gajeel didn't seem to take this as a legal argument, as he sighed and turned his back to her. She was about to cry out another statement, but was interrupted by Gajeel's voice.

"Let's just say that the kingdom didn't approve us." he said suspiciously monotone. Levy stiffened, not knowing what to say. Gajeel ignored her silence and went inside, leaving a immobilized Levy behind.

The tiny bluenette sat still at the grassy ground, gazing up at the stars. Gajeel's words kept ringing in her mind.

_the kingdom didn't approve us._

As she had spent most of her life locked inside the castle, she didn't know what the situation was outside the castle walls. Of course, her economy teacher had informed her about the prosperity and well working trade-systems. But she had never walked the streets of Crocus herself. That really made her ponder on how fair the government was to the less luckier people.

"Aren't you cold?"

Levy gave a surprised _ek_, as she was too caught up in her thinking to notice the person that had casually walked up behind her. She turned around and saw the white-haired girl smile brightly at her.

"Lisanna! You surprised me!" she cried out, holding a hand over her racing heart. Lisanna giggled softly, and sat down beside her. Her blue eyes held an interested look.

"That was quite impressive you know, demanding an answer from the brute himself." she giggled lightly.

"You heard everything?" Levy gawped, feeling incredible awkward at the moment.

"I did." she laughed. "But I have to say that was quite feisty of you."  
Levy raised an eyebrow.

"How so?"

A smile pulled Lisanna's lips, and she gave her a penetrating look. It was like that gaze looked straight into her mind. Like a freaky x-ray. She sighed and lied back at the grass.

"I mean, asking about one's past without telling yours first." Levy's eyes grew wider at the white-haired girl's words. "Isn't that right? Mrs. princess?"

It felt like somebody had dropped a solid stone in her tummy. She had been exposed. As easy as that. But if she knew her secret, what would she do about it. Levy admitted that she hadn't known this girl for long, so an uneasy feeling grew in the pit of her stomach. Lisanna seemed pretty amused by her expression. But to her surprise, Lisanna gave her a warm smile.

"So I guess it's top-secret, huh?" she mused, tapping her chin with one finger.  
"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me."

Lisanna gave her a reassuring smile, and Levy felt a huge burden being lifted off her shoulders. She then stood up and started to walk back.

"If you don't come inside soon you'll catch a cold." she winked, before her back disappeared between the trees.  
Levy sat once again alone at the clearing. She gave a heavy sigh before dropping backwards on the grass. It was so much with these persons that was yet to understand. As well as the world.  
She closed her eyes, feeling the wind brush through her hair. This was going to be a complicated journey.

**Author's note. Yeah!**

**So what do you think about Levy's imagination? She has her way of overdoing things I guess. ^^**

**But that's what's fun about this story, I can make people as random or serious as I want! B) **

**I hope you enjoyed it! **


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